The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

by Robert Frost

Comic Relief

So the other day, my colleague emailed me saying "PLEASE COME TO MY DESK RIGHT NOW. I NEED YOUR EYES", I sauntered over 1 hour later after his second email "WHERE ARE YOO?", only to find him hunched over at his desk, as if in great pain.

I asked, "Yo, what's up, what's the emergency?" and he said, "THIS!"

He showed me a powerpoint presentation, done using the crayon template in MS Powerpoint *cringe factor 10*, with plenty of colourful starbursts *cringe factor 15* that DON'T MATCH. OW. It's the visual equivalent of scratching your nails across the blackboard. To top it all off, as a crowning glory, the entire breathtaking presentation was done using COMIC SANS FONT.

*hyperventilate* excuse me, I need to calm down.

COMIC SANS is NOT A FONT. It is an ABOMINATION. Never, ever ever use it. Delete it from your list of fonts, if possible. Please, for the love of all things good and pretty, use Arial or Helvetica Neue. At least people won't snigger when they look at you during the presentation.

With that, I leave you with a video discussing both sides to the issue: Comic Sans--Trash it or junk it?

Comic Sans from Sam and Anita on Vimeo.

FAILZ.

Fren says:
Jim buys some chocs and gives half to ken
ken buys some sweets and gives half to jim
jim eats 12 sweets and the ratio of jim's sweets to chocs was 1:7
ken eats 18 chocs and the ratio of ken's sweets to chocs was 1:4

how many sweets did ken buy?

Fren says:
P6 question
took me 10mins....
I am shamed

I say:
WTH
where did u get this?

Fren says:
my cuz sent it to me
I lost to her by 5 mins

(4min later...)
I say:
did he buy 21 sweets?

Fren says:
failz pri 6

I say:
omg
wat's the answer!?

Fren says:
68

I say:
... wth.

Fren says:
tough isn't it

I say:
HOW?!

Fren says:
took me 10

(1hr later)

Fren says:
solved?
:D

I say:
stop mocking me!

Fren says:
I is not 'toopidest
woot!!

I say:
ROFL!!!
I HATE YOOO



Do YOU know how to get to the answer??

The Story of My Life

My Day Stinks.

You know that your day is off to a bad start when on your usual long drawn unexciting commute to work, someone lets off a silent gaseous killer in the sardine packed bus and you slowly watch the air around you turn green and brown and you turn blue and purple as you choke and try not to breathe but yet take in enough air to stay alive. *WHEEZE, WHEEZE*

Words went off like alarm bells in my head, namely WTF--as in, What The Fart?! You @$$ (literally)! Leaving a stinkbomb like that and letting us innocents die a slow, painful death?!

And when you arrive in the office, with the last trails of green and brown gas leaving the tendrils of your hair, lo, the painters were called in to repaint the office right behind your desk. Paint fumes, whee! My emails will be incoherent! My brain will be mush! My drink tastes of paint fumes, too! Rainbows and unicorns will prance around my desk in tempo with the pounding of keyboards around me!

My day stinks. I hope yours will smell like flowers and sunshine, and if it does, take a deep breath in rememberance of me.

Rouge et Noir

The wonderful thing about websites such as The Sartorialist and LookBook is that it provides tonnes of fodder to inspire for people who are creatively-challenged and imagination-impaired... people like me, in other words. It shows you new ways to wear clothes, new looks, and makes you wince at the way Singaporeans wear ugly berms, battered t-shirts with sloppy footwear, only to try to redeem the look with a $1.8k bag hanging on their arms. Erm, no. Not working it, babe.

The other inspiring thing about it is that it makes me reach for my pencils and pens to capture the looks on paper. Sometimes images just catch your attention and you can't get it out of your head til it's translated on to paper. Sometimes things get lost in translation, but hey, bad and ugly drawings are all part of the deal if you wanna have a go at it. ; )

The Red & Black Series

Clinging on

No room and strength for any original thoughts, so shall just share a passage here that sums up my thoughts and philosophy on life these few days:

"The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.

It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here Paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.

Christ is its grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end.

It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents."

This was a passage that was shared a long time ago by a person I previously knew, who can only be described as a saint--Dr Walter Steitz, a man completely devoted to learning and teaching the Bible. His death was sudden and came as a complete shock to us, and up til today, I remember his perfect gentleness and complete and utter respect for every single person he meets with great fondness.

Anyways, my rambling aside, the point I'm trying to make is that in dire and difficult times, the richness, comfort and truth of the Bible is a balm to the soul like nothing else can be. When a man reaches the very end of his rope, it's oftentimes the beginning point for God's gentle hand.